Bonjour, mes amis!

  

It was great seeing you all at the Booster Meeting! I have some announcements to make regarding projects related to our Music Program. I intend to send periodic reminders for various activities or requests that have not been met. I hope you won't find it a bother!

 

Title:

 

We will be officially called Our Lady of Mercy School Music Program. This program includes students who wish to participate in the stage band, marching band, learn an instrument, be part of an elective music program, colorguard, etc.

 

Logo:

 

It will be nice to have a unique logo for our Music program. As we know, we recognize most bands by their logo even before by their name. We invite ideas for design of our logo with a caption (motto) beneath it. Our band instruments could be affixed with this logo to be seen when we participate in local events. When we have adequate funds, we could print (even peel-off stick-on kind will do) the logo on the instruments while performing at events.

 

Revamping blog:

 

In order to increase interest in our school (and the future president of this program), attract attention from our community and eventually the county, I would like to revamp our blog with a new look, layout and style. We intend to have an active calendar of events and maybe have it integrated with our google or phone calendar. This will enable us to have reminders for our events and make communication easier and effective. Once the new title and logo is approved, I will begin the process. Let's communicate in style and modern technology!

 

Band Room Cleaning:

 

You must have received a Doodle invitation. Please enter your preference as directed beneath each time slot. It will be nice to have pictures taken during this project as it may be used to showcase our cause and for obtaining grants and freewill donations. Could one of you volunteer to take good pictures? Also, please feel free to bring the kids if you don't have an option to leave them at home. They can play in the school grounds and we can take turns to keep an eye on them. Refreshments will be provided in appreciation of your hard work!

 

It will be great if we could bring the following on the cleaning day. 

1.     Any cleaning solution 

2.     Heavy duty gloves

3.     Dusters - short and long

4.     Broom and pan

5.     Trash bags (heavy duty preferably)

6.     Vacuum cleaner (with special cleaning accessories, preferably).

7.     Extension cord for vacuum cleaners or any electronic dusters.

8.     Face Masks to prevent dust allergy while cleaning.

9.     Step stool or ladders.

10.  Scrubbers, cleaning pads, paper towels, etc.

11.  Basic tool set with screws and nuts for fixing creaky joints!

12.  Adhesives, lubricants, paint, etc to fix broken, rusty items

At the end of this heavy duty project, I am sure we will be featured in HGTV!

 

Band Room Donation:

 

Our Band Room is a great rectangular space with tall ceiling - tall enough to insert a loft or mezzanine floor. We can maximize the use of the space if we had proper shelving units and storage to store our precious instruments and music library. Our grant writer(s) will be working on obtaining a grant to make such structural changes. We hope that happens soon, miraculously. Meanwhile, we do have a need for the following items that may be in your storage or simply in disuse. The band room can very well make use of these.

 

1.     TALL cupboards or cabinets that can stand alone. Low cupboards or tables are not effective for the purpose unless they are stackable.

2.     TALL cupboards or cabinets that could be attached to the wall. Most walls in the room are made of concrete, so we need to figure out a cost-effective way to hoist and hold them. Members with carpentry background or knowledge could volunteer to lend your expertise to oversee this project for us. St. Joseph, pray for us!

3.     Long tables that can be stacked to capitalize on the tall ceiling and to create storage as well.

4.     Racks that can be attached to the walls.

5.     Garage storage cabinets (like the steel ones with wheels). No problem if it is rusty, we can paint over and recreate it.

6.     Working printer primarily for scanning, printing and making copies. Additional features are welcome.

7.     A Nice chair for Band Director's desk.

8.     Old instruments

9.     Sheet Music

10.  Special Covers that will aid in protecting instruments.  

Anything else that you think has a suitable purpose in the room.

 

The plan:

 

We will clean out the room completely, take inventory on the items and return them. While one team takes stock of items, the other team could fix, touch up, paint, etc. While returning, we will consider spaces for different instrument practice - a specific area for drums, a larger area for keyboards, etc. We must make sure that these spaces are clear and uncluttered giving easy access to students to use and then stow their instruments within their designated area.. 

  

CoinJar Personal Fundraiser Project:

 

As you know, we have a personal fundraiser project in which you can participate. We cannot use the name of the school or the Music program as it will violate the policy established by the school. So let's keep it personal but choose to donate the proceeds to the Program. Here are some suggestions:

 

1.     Simply drop $1 and change everyday into your personal coin jar. If each person could do this for one whole year and say 30 members did this, we could raise a good amount

2.     Hold garage sale (perfect time for spring cleaning) and donate a portion of the proceeds.

3.     Search your cars, sofas, pockets, etc for any forgotten change. Stats: Spare change collected from a single household could add up!!!

 

Until we have an elected member to take over the CoinJar fundraising, your collections/donations/savings will be collected at every Booster Meeting. I am sure it will be cool to watch that money grow and the surprise it will amount to!

  

Let's work on this together and get things rolling! Thanks for all you do and your dependable support!

 

 

Regards

Maria Radhika Albert (Kasipalli)

Communications Director, OLM Music Program